“School will not start immediately,” said Cohen. “So if someone is in a school right now, they need to stay in that school and they will be transferred. If it’s an EMSB school, it will be an easy transfer, but if it’s another school board, we will arrange for an inter-board agreement.”Montreal father and founder of Covid Ecoles Quebec Olivier Drouin says he welcomes the initiative and says it’s a crucial solution for those who are vulnerable.
“Having a broader access to remote learning is I think what a lot of people have been advocating for for the last two years,” he said. “Because it’s a choice to protect your children versus the lack of measures that are being introduced in schools for this possible eighth wave.” Katherine Korakakis, president of the English Parents’ Committee, says many are happy to hear about the new online model — but she’s concerned that with just a week before school is set to begin, there’s still a lot that hasn’t been ironed out.“There’s still not information out yet as to what the school is going to look like, when it’s going to be rolled out, what a day will look like, what kind of software they will use, etc.,” she said. “So there’s still a lot of questions.